10 Transgressive Novels

I am an avid writer and reader of Transgressive Fiction. Last November I devoted a blog post to 10 works of Transgressive Fiction. This week we return to the subject with 10 more Transgressive novels, none of which featured in the previous post. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Definition: Transgressive Fiction is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways.

The following books are presented in chronological order:

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934)

Sexuality, freedom and the human condition are themes in this ground-breaking work of Transgressive Fiction. Tropic of Cancer was banned from being imported into the United States after its publication in France in 1934. 

My Review: Set in the late 1920s and early 30s, Tropic of Cancer is a semi-autobiographical first-person account of a young, struggling American writer living in Paris, and for a short period Le Havre. His is a seedy existence, characterised by a shortage of money …(more)

Novel with Cocaine by M. Ageyev (1934)

Novel with Cocaine is a nihilistic and philosophical novel about adolescence and addiction that could be described as Dostoyevskian. Since the time of its publication in book form there has been intense speculation over who wrote it.

My Review: Set in the years immediately before and after the Russian Revolution, Novel with Cocaine follows the life of Vadim, a Moscow adolescent and student. Vadim is prone to self-loathing and disdainful of others, none more so than his mother, whose …(more)

The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson (1952)

The Killer Inside Me is a suspenseful and unrelentingly bleak first person narrative about a psychopath. It is the most disturbing work of fiction this reader has ever read. The book left an indelible mark on his mind.

My Review: Twenty-nine-year-old Lou Ford is a Deputy Sheriff from the West Texas town of Central City. Lou is a hard-working and simple character with a fondness for clichés; at least this is how he is perceived by his community …(more)

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)

The story is about a man named Humbert Humbert, who falls in love with a twelve-year-old girl, Lolita, the daughter of his landlady. Banned in a number of countries Lolita continues to cause controversy to this day.

My Review: The protagonist, Humbert Humbert, is an intellectual with an all-consuming craving for young girls, or nymphets as he refers to them.  After his wife leaves him for another man, Humbert Humbert becomes a live-in tutor for the Hazes, a family consisting of a …(more)

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)

First published in 1962, A Clockwork Orange is a ground-breaking and controversial book with an intriguing and intelligent narrator, which leaves many questions to ponder concerning behaviourism and the role of the state. 

My Review: Alex is an eccentric 15-year-old delinquent with a penchant for classical music and drinking milk. He and his fellow ‘droogs’ assault, rob and rape with impunity, that is until a serious incident sees him arrested and incarcerated. Our anti-hero is anticipating …(more)

Ham On Rye by Charles Bukowski (1982)

Ham On Rye is a coming-of-age story, in which the protagonist views himself as an intruder, refusing to adhere to society’s expectations. This is a sad and moving work written in the author’s trademark economy of prose style.

My Review: Ham On Rye is a semi-autobiographical account of Bukowski’s formative years in his home city of Los Angeles. The story follows the early life of the author’s alter ego, Henry Chinaski, starting with his earliest memories, then through his school years …(more)

Queer by William S. Burroughs (1985)

Autobiographical in nature, the book is an account of Burroughs’s life in Mexico, during a troubled time in his life shortly after accidentally shooting wife Joan Vollmer dead. The author adeptly portrays a deep sense of longing and loss. 

My Review: Queer is an unreciprocated love story, in which the protagonist Lee craves love and attention from a young American by the name of Eugene Allerton. Set in the American ex-pat scene of hedonistic, lawless 1940s Mexico …(more)

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991) 

American Psycho is a satire of the yuppies culture of the 1980s. The book caused outrage when it was published due to its explicit violent and sexual content, as well as its perceived misogynistic elements.

My Review: American Psycho is a highly controversial novel that brought its young author Bret Easton Ellis instant fame. The book is written from the perspective of a young Wall Street financier, Patrick Bateman. He is intelligent, well-educated, wealth …(more)

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (1996)

The author takes us on a journey through a dark, menacing and brutal world that mirrors the film it inspired almost exactly. Palahniuk’s seminal work is about a nameless narrator, who starts a fight club with a charismatic anarchist.

My Review: The protagonist, who remains nameless, is an insomniac leading a bland corporate existence, investigating accidents for a car company, whose only concern is profit. Unable to find meaning in a faceless consumerist society, he instead seeks solace in …(more)

Skagboys by Irvine Welsh (2012)

Skagboys is a work of Transgressive Fiction set for the most part in 1980s Scotland against a backdrop of Thatcherism, the rise of dance of music and HIV. The main focus is many of the characters increasing obsession with heroin.

My Review: Skagboys is the prequel to Trainspotting. Its colourful, mostly young characters hail from the Edinburgh port suburb of Leith. There is the bookish, unambitious Mark ‘Rents’ Renton, and his best friend, the verbose, predatory womaniser Sick Boy …(more)